कृपया इसे हिंदी में पढ़ने के लिए यहाँ क्लिक करें
What happened?
Sakshi Gupta, a 26-year-old relationship manager at ICICI Bank’s DCM branch in Kota, embezzled approximately ₹4.58 crore from over 110 customer accounts—belonging to 41 individuals—between 2020 and 2023. This was no series of petty withdrawals; she deliberately broke fixed deposits, activated overdraft facilities, issued loans, and siphoned funds into Demat accounts for stock speculation—all done without customers’ consent.
How did she pull it off?
- Silent withdrawals: Used ICICI’s ‘User FD’ link to prematurely close FDs worth over ₹1.34 crore.
- Overdraft misuse: Activated overdraft facilities on ~40 accounts and permitted loans totaling ₹3.4 lakh to herself or proxies.
- Digital diversion tactics: Changed registered mobile numbers to those of relatives, intercepted OTPs and alerts, manipulated internal systems (Insta Kiosk, internet banking, debit cards) to hide suspicious transactions.
- Ghost account as pooling ground: Funnelled over ₹3 crore through a single senior citizen’s account to cover tracks.
Why stocks?
Driven by a strong interest—perhaps obsession—in speculative trading, Gupta funneled all misappropriated funds into the stock market, including F&O platforms like Zerodha and ICICI Direct. Unfortunately, she lost almost the entire ₹4–4.6 crore.
How the scam unraveled
The scheme was uncovered when an FD—₹1.5 lakh—was unexpectedly missing. A customer’s inquiry triggered the bank’s internal audit. The branch manager filed an FIR on February 18, 2023, and Gupta was arrested on May 31, 2025, at her sister’s wedding.
Legal and institutional fallout
- Arrest and custody: Skilled Kota police officers, like Sub‑Inspector Ibrahim Khan and SP Dilip Saini, are investigating possible accomplices. Gupta has been remanded to judicial custody.
- Bank’s response: ICICI took immediate action—filed an FIR, suspended Gupta, refunded all legitimate customer claims, and pledged system-wide tightening.
Ground‑level realism: voices from affected customers
Ramlal Suman, one of the victims, shared:
“I met Sakshi Gupta several times… I didn’t receive any messages related to transactions on my phone. Only when statements were checked did the branch manager inform me I was a victim of fraud.”
Root causes & broader implications
- Insider breaches: The fraud underscores how easily trusted employees can exploit system vulnerabilities.
- Process loopholes: Lack of real‑time alert safeguards, weak internal audit routines, and insufficient OTP protocols amplified the risk.
- Vulnerable customers: Senior citizens, especially less- tech-savvy ones, were primary targets.
- Culture of speculation: The lure of quick gains in F&O trading likely clouded judgment—even for banking professionals.
This echoes past scandals: from Harshad Mehta’s 1992 manipulation to the PNB‑Nirav Modi ₹14,000 crore fraud—each time exposing structural failures and prompting regulatory reforms.
A quirky twist
Picture this: stealing crores to chase stock tips that vanished faster than your weekend plans! A young professional—trained in finance—decides that breaking people’s hard-earned deposits to feed a stock trading addiction was worth it. Unfortunately, it backfired spectacularly—leaving zero gains and possibly thousands of shattered trust.
In summary
- Timeframe: 2020–2023, detected in Feb 2023, arrest May 31, 2025
- Scope: ₹4.58 crore from 110 FDs (~41 victims)
- Method: FD break, overdraft abuse, loan fraud, mobile/OTP tampering
- Outcome: Funds invested—then lost—in stock market
- Aftermath: Bank reimbursed customers; police still probing
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